Alicia and David

[monoslideshow id=63 w=820 h=300]

Alicia and David chose the beautiful Biltmore Hotel for their destination wedding. Some of the guests were local but for the majority of them, they had to travel across the world in order to join the bride and groom on such a special day. Alicia’s Mom, Catalina lives in South Florida and she was able to help Alicia alot in her planning. The wedding was very colorful and really focused on what Alicia loves, Italian, garden elegance. Sometimes it is very difficult to put together the inspirations that the bride has for her wedding but with a little bit of creativity, we can accomplish anything. Typically Italian means tuscan and Garden translates to English Garden. As a bride, it is so important to convey your ideas, likes, dislikes, etc to your design team as we hold the key to what the wedding will end up looking like. Alicia knew exactly what she wanted and was very eloquent in telling us everything about what she loved and how she pictures her wedding. Join me as I walk you through Alicia and David’s wedding day.

Thank you very very very much to Rodrigo Varela for such great images! Please click HERE and check out his work!

Rodrigo caught Alicia chatting with one of her bridesmaids right before she got dressed. I love this picture as it is says so much about the reality of the wedding day. Everyone is soooo excited about the wedding the bride’s phone typically is ringing all day long. Thankfully, it is always with good wishes for her day and a lot of “I can’t wait to see you later”. Kathryn Parrish designed her bouquet. I am a huge fan of flowers in any color however when working with bright color palettes you have to be sure that is done perfectly and this is one of those examples. It has to be one of my favorite bouquets of 2010. Genius Kate! <3

Meet David, the groom and his groomsmen. Right after the “first glance” is a great time to take pictures with your bridal party. Many times, the available light is not good for pictures after a ceremony at sunset. You can get the best of both worlds by doing it before the ceremony. Not to mention you cut your “post wedding pictures” list at least half if not knock it out all before the wedding. It allows you to enjoy your cocktail hour and say hello for the few hundred guests that have made it a long way to be with you on your wedding day.

Isn’t she lovely? Alicia is so sweet! She was all smiles- always! Love it! Although Alicia was a classic bride- she decided on a slim A-ine lace gown, wore her hair in a simple bun, and her pearl jewelry was simple and delicate, her colorful bouquet really pulled her look together. So many brides are afraid of color with their bouquets, but it can be such an amazing enhancement to your overall look. I would always advise our clients that their bouquet is not only a reflection of the wedding but an accessory to your overall look.

Alicia and David’s first look, so cute and so emotional! This has to be one of my favorite moments in the day. You know that these two have been envisioning this for many months, sometimes, even years and it finally gets to be the time! The time where they see each other for the first time on what will be the most important day in their lives. I always try to get a great peak at their special moment, many times I find myself wiping off a tear or two, but it hits a soft side in everyone!

If you are considering seeing your bride or groom before the wedding ceremony, I would strongly suggest it. So many brides ask me if it “takes away the moment when your walking down the aisle and your groom sees you for the first time”. Many photographers like Rodrigo Varela spend a lot of time setting up this moment to make it as special as if he was seeing you for the first time walking down the aisle. It definitely comes down to personal preference but some of the greatest pictures have ever seen are from the first glance.

The Ceremony! WOW!!!!!!! This canopy was even more breathtaking in person.

Pink and Purple phalaenopsis orchids and roses, antique green and ivory hydrangeas, curly willow, and green foliage made of this amazing canopy inspired by Alicia’s love of the whispie garden motif. Candles in mason jars hung from the inside of the structure. Although we started when there was still sunlight, candles can still add the essence of romance down the aisle. We strategically time the ceremony to start in the daylight but end in dusk. It makes for a great experience for your guests as they sit and watch you marry your soulmate.

Mr. and Mrs. Castro! … and let the party begin ….

As you can see Alicia and David’s colors are slate grey, hot pink, purple, plum, and green. The giant floral arrangement sat on a pewter candelabra. Mini lamp shades sat at the base of the table to add candlelight to the table scape. More and more we are trying to add candle light to tables without using the usual floating candle in a cylinder. The linen we chose was a dark pewter linen that would match perfectly with the shades of purple on the table. A glass silver beaded charger was placed a every seat. The napkin was folded in a way to form a pocket in the size of the menu. Catalina purchased small angel ornaments in italy when she was last there. She brought them back and wanted to use them somewhere in the tables. We put them on each napkin so that it would add another detail to the cymbidium orchid that adorned each plate.

Advice: We always request the catering captains to keep the chargers on the tables thru dessert (unless we are using rectablge or sqaure plates. It’s the best way to make the most of the money spent of this accessory.

Mixing these colors in the flowers made for a great centerpiece to reflect the whispie garden feel. Monochromatic flowers are much more modern, so mixing the flowers and the colors combined with the loose mechanics of the arrangement makes this the perfect look for the wedding.

As another sweet and sentimental detail, tent cards were placed on the table that read: “In gratitude for our blessing we have made a donation to the building fund of the Mano Amiga School is Zipaquira, Columbia. It was towards this very special school that Alicia’s late grandmother, Adiela Bernate de Uribe, devoted her efforts for many years.” Donations to charities in lue of favors is a growing trend. It’s a great way to show how thankful you are for the many blessings you have received. It is also a great way to inform your guests about your favorite charity.

Some of the details of the wedding. An after dinner lounge was placed on the Southwest Terrace of the Alhmabra Ballroom.

The cake was in line with our theme and the bride surprised her groom with a grooms cake to look like a box of cigars. Todo Dulces did a great job in replicating an actual box Alicia provided them with.

Catalina surprised her daughter and new son with mariachi’s. In their family, there is No special event that lacks this musical entertainment. They played for about 20 minutes and the guests then danced the night away!!!!!!!!!!!!